tl;dr
Extraction Oil & Gas intends to drill an additional 18 wells at the Coyote Trails pad in unincorporated Weld County, just outside of Erie, Colorado. We are working diligently with other organizations, the Town of Erie, and the City and County of Broomfield to prevent this Application for Permit to Drill (APD) from being approved. Most recently, their APD was denied by the ECMC Commissioners in a 4 to 1 vote during a January 24th, 2024 commission hearing. The operator will most likely resubmit their application with additional information, the timing of which is unknown.
We’ll be updating this FAQ as we get additional information from the various involved parties. Where possible, links to additional/source material have been provided.
How many wells are already in production at Coyote Trails?
There are 27 wells already producing about 15,000 barrels of oil and 49,127 BOE (Barrels of Oil Equivalent) of natural gas per month, or 284,939 MCF, which is 1,000 cubic feet of gas, as reported to the ECMC for October 2023.
When were the 27 existing wells at Coyote Trails drilled and completed?
Drilling and completions at Coyote Trails happened in two phases; the first 10 wells were “spud” in February, 2018 and went into production in August, 2018. A second set of 17 wells were drilled starting February 2019 and went into production in October 2019.
How do the 123 ECMC complaints filed for Coyote Trails correlate to the drilling and hydraulic fracturing done at the site?
A total of 123 complaints were filed between February 2018 and September of 2019. View a detailed timeline showing how these complaints correlate to the drilling and completions phases at Coyote Trails.
How much water was used to frac the 27 wells at Coyote trails?
About 7.5 million gallons of water were used to frac each of the 27 wells at Coyote Trails, for a total of 224.7 million gallons of water.
Has there been any media coverage of the proposed wells?
Yes. See these articles:
- Boulder Daily Camera: Erie, Broomfield petition in Coyote Trails drilling denied but can still participate
- Boulder Daily Camera: Commission denies drilling application at Coyote Trails following opposition from Erie, Broomfield
- Broomfield Enterprise: Commission denies drilling application at Coyote Trails following opposition from Erie, Broomfield
- Town of Erie: Coyote Trails Hearing Outcome
- Colorado Sun: Two oil and gas drilling plans found too close to people, pronghorns.
Where can I watch a recording of the January 24th ECMC APD Hearing?
A recording of the meeting is available on the ECMC's YouTube channel at:
https://youtu.be/wu4ItFzz5so?t=4697
Where can I find the presentations and supporting materials from the January 24th ECMC APD Hearing?
They may be accessed via this Google Drive link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/14MUhUANCicqhr4QkBs3hVlLG9KrjtahC